1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing aziridine compounds which are useful as, for example, precursors of amino acids and .beta.-lactam antibiotics and as intermediates in organic synthetic reactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processes are known for producing aziridine compounds. For example, such aziridine compounds can be obtained by (i) a process of allowing a halogenating agent such as phosphorus chloride or thionyl chloride to act on a .beta.-amino-alcohol to form a .beta.-halogenoamine and treating the .beta.-halogenoamine with potassium hydroxide or another base for cyclization (Gabriel method), (ii) a process of allowing sulfuric acid to act on a.beta.-amino-alcohol to form a .beta.-amino-sulfuricester and reacting the .beta.-amino-sulfuric ester with sodium hydroxide or another base for cyclization (Wenker method), or (iii) a process of reacting a ketoxime with a Grignard reagent in excess to form aziridine via azirine. These processes, however, require large amounts of phosphorus compounds or other reagents and are inevitably accompanied with complicated aftertreatments. In addition, the processes by-produce large amounts of salts, which are disadvantageous from viewpoints of resources and environment.